Bangladesh Test captain Shakib Al Hasan regretted the number of catches his team dropped after they lost the second Test in Dhaka as well, by 3 wickets and handed the Test series 0-2 to India, who had previously won the first Test in Chattogram by 188 runs.
Bangladesh dropped three catches including one that Mominul Haque dropped R Ashwin at forward short-leg when he failed to negotiate a turning delivery of Mehidy Hasan Miraz. Ashwin made 42* runs and added 71* runs with Shreyas Iyer (29*) for the 8th wicket to take India home in a tense chase.
"It is slightly disappointing (missing catches). Other teams don't miss the chances that we are missing. They made a difference. We could have bowled them out for 250 instead of 314 (in the first innings). There was a chance in the second innings, but it is part of cricket. We fielded well in the T20 World Cup. We fielded well in the ODI series, but we couldn't do it in the Test match. Maybe due to lack of concentration or fitness,” Shakib told reporters at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium on Sunday.
"We have to find out how to better concentrate for longer, and avoid making mistakes. Other teams don't give so many opportunities. We miss regulation stuff. Our bowlers have to create 13-14 chances to take 10 wickets. Other teams have to create nine chances to take 10 wickets," he added.
Shakib credited the Indian lower order for handling the pressure so well, while praising the overall performance and mentality of his own team.
"I think Ashwin and Iyer both batted well on a pitch that wasn't easy. Credit to them. I think we tried in every which way. We fell slightly short, somehow. There's no regret. I think we fought well in the whole Test. If we continue having this mentality in future Tests, we will get better results.
There's regret not winning a close match but at least we are getting close. Hopefully next year there'll be a better result next year. We have 3-5 Tests in 2023. I expect to win all three series, considering the teams we will be playing," he added.
Bangladesh will play five Test matches in 2023 respectively against Ireland, Afghanistan, and New Zealand and all of them are home fixtures.
Shakib also noted that if Bangladesh wants to improve in Tests they need to introduce more first-class matches.
"We need to introduce more first-class matches to do seriously well in Tests. A player with 50-70 first-class matches is a lot different than someone who has played 8 or 10 first-class matches. I am sure most of the Indian players have more than 100 first-class matches under their belt. I don't play domestic cricket for a long time, but even those who are playing, how many do they play? They will need 10 years to reach 80 first-class matches. If we could have done that in five years, we may have better Test players," he added.
(Cricbuzz inputs)
